The High Pressure Experiments That Made D-Day

This episode of Fresh Air features a conversation between Terry Gross and Rachel Lance, a biomedical engineer and blast injuries specialist, about her book "Chamber Divers: The Untold Story of the D-Day Scientists Who Changed Special Operations Forces Forever." Lance discusses the dangerous underwater research conducted by scientists during World War II, including their self-experimentation in hyperbaric chambers to understand the effects of pressure and gas toxicity on the human body. The interview covers topics such as decompression sickness, oxygen toxicity, blast injuries in water, and the role of these scientists in enabling underwater surveillance critical to the success of D-Day. Additionally, they explore the applications and controversies surrounding hyperbaric medicine and the ethical considerations of research involving human subjects in extreme environments. The episode concludes with a film review by Justin Chang of "Sirat," a movie about a father searching for his daughter at a rave in the Moroccan desert.